Courage
by odmonkey
Summary: Telling someone you like them always takes courage. Especially when the one you like happens to like older men. [SasuSaku] [SakuGenma]
1. Sasuke

I don't own Naruto.

I was feeling a bit sorry for Sasuke 'cos he's being ignored in my other story. Therefore a romcom with our favourite Uchiha.

Sasuke scowled. A leech. A damn, many-armed, hundred-tentacled, blood-sucking leech. As far as Sasuke was concerned it was the only way to describe one Shiranui Genma who was currently loitering around outside the hospital, senbon firmly in his teeth. Sasuke was meant to be heading off for some late afternoon training with his 'favourite' sensei but as soon as he saw Genma he decided Kakashi could get a taste of his own medicine. There was only one reason that the older ninja was waiting at the hospital and Sasuke would be damned if Genma got close to the pretty pink haired nurse when he was around. And he was nearly always around. Having been forcibly removed from Orochimaru's presence less than three months ago he was in total lock-down; even his training with Kakashi was begrudged. So, with little else to occupy him, he spent his time preventing any intimacy with Sakura and the Leech.

Though he would rather marry Naruto than admit it, Sakura had been the one thing that had kept his low spirits alive throughout his 'Orochi-Period'. Inbetween training, fantasising about killing Itachi and avoiding the somewhat innappropriate advances of a certain Snake-Sannin he thought about Sakura. He felt like slamming his head into the nearest hard surface everytime he thought about what a complete bastard he had been to her. He realised that he had very few friends and he couldn't afford to turn away the ones he had. Therefore he made the decision that when he got back to Konoha, after killing Itachi of course, that he would patch things up between them and if possible have her love him enough to marry him and always be by his side. However he had been hauled off back to Konoha early; she's been there at his trial beside the Hokage herself looking good enough to cause a slight (extremely slight mind you) blush across his nose as she waved at him. Afterwards he'd been accosted by the dobe and forced into ramen; when Naruto dragged Sakura along by the wrist for a 'Team 7 Reunion' it suddenly hadn't seemed so bad. Halfway through ignoring his best friend and imagining having a pink-haired wife there was a rude interruption. According to nearly all of the female population of Konoha Shiranui Genma was a glorious piece of eye-candy with his charming and flirtatious manner backed up by good looks and the sort of body only being a shinobi can provide. And he was leaning over Sakura whispering something in her ear; something that was making her blush and giggle. The chopsticks in Sasuke's hand were suddenly being put under an unfair amount of pressure. In the end they had to give up the fight and practically disintergrated when Genma pulled her up and they walked away hand-in-hand. Naruto eyed Sasuke warily while handing him another pair of chopsticks.

_"What just happened, dobe?" _Sasuke was oddly calm. Naruto clutched his precious ramen to him and inched backwards.

_"Ahem...Well Sakura-chan and Genma have been ... well ... " _Naruto cringed, clearly begging for his seat to devour him.

_"Spit it out dobe" _Sasuke was becoming less than calm, the new chopsticks in ruins.

_"Well, ya know! SEEING each other" _

There was a deafening silence. Kakashi, who had been about to come over and greet his former students, turned and walked back out. The other diners shifted uncomfortably and began worrying about things like health and wills. Naruto had foregone all pretense and was now cowering behind his seat. Breaths were held as an explosion was anticipated; but nothing came.

_"How long?" _Sasuke's hands were now on the table, clenching so hard his knuckles were white.

Naruto peeked out. _"Um... not long ... about a month ago? Maybe two..."_

_"TWO?"_ The manager decided he didn't have enough courage to ask the raging Uchiha for money to repair that bit of his stand.

Naruto had had enough. He got up and decided it was better for all concerned if he left and gave Sasuke no more details. The people at the ramen stand decided now was a good time to leave in a reasonably hasty manner. Sasuke was angry. Angry and hurt. The only girl he could see himself with had forgotten him for a sleaze like Genma! And he had spilt ramen on himself. And he'd have to pay to fix the stand. AND he hadn't killed his brother yet. It was a dark day for one Uchiha Sasuke.

While in the process of trying to make Genma's head explode Sasuke thanked whatever luck he had that Sakura at least still considered him a friend. She was a thousand times more mature than she was then, never pestered him or begged him for dates; though Sasuke got hte feeling he would have agreed had she even thought about asking for one.

Saying as he was in lock-down he was going to try to win her over. Properly this time, mind you, not just a one-sided girly crush with pink hearts and sparkles but a proper mature relationship. First thing was to tell her how he felt. That would take the kind of courage being a ninja didn't prepare you for but he sustained himself on the thought of her being so happy when he did tell her. His mind once again disappeared into visions of a certain pink-haired someone hanging out washing in the garden of the Uchiha estate.

R/R


	2. Naruto

I don't own Naruto.

As much as Sasuke didn't want to admit it, he was going to need some help. Having been away for nearly three years with no contact to his old village and friends he felt slightly out of his depth around them, even though Naruto hadn't changed a bit.

He reckoned that, after a few days of looking at who Sakura spent her time with, he needed to talk to the dobe and Sakura's intensely irritating blond friend Ino. He would also have to be careful; Naruto would probably not see the bigger picture of why he was asking about Sakura for a while but Yamanaka Ino was nothing if not perceptive.

He was sure Sakura hadn't completely forgotten about him and her feelings about him as she still smiled at him and such whenever they were in close proximities. He also knew that his charms hadn't diminished during his time away as his crew of resolute fangirls was larger than ever. Genma was also regarded as a bit of a playboy, perhaps he would be stupid enough to find some other girl, leaving Sasuke with a nice little 'comforting' angle. First thing first was to quiz his best friend about his hopefully future partner.

Shiranui Genma was by all accounts devastatingly handsome, fun-loving and charming. However under his easy-going demeanour lay a shrewd mind and he saw the way Sasuke was looking at his Sakura and saw it for what it was. When he mentioned it casually in conversation to Sakura she said she was happy Sasuke was becoming more human. Clearly she had no idea of what the prodigy had in store for her if he got his way. Not that he was likely to thought Genma.

Naruto loved ramen, he was aware he was being stereotyped for his love of it but he couldn't bring himself to care enough to fight against the slur or (god-forbid) give up his favourite meal. Therefore, once he got over the heart-attack brought on by Sasuke actually inviting him somewhere, he jumped at the chance of a ramen buffet out of the Uchiha fortune. Sasuke had been acting strangely however. He wasn't sure if being with Orochimaru had in some way damaged his brain causing him to be sociable and actually ask about other people but he supposed it was a possibility.

_"So, what's happening with you and Hinata?" _Sasuke casually picked up a piece of beef in his chopsticks and watched from behind his cool facade as Naruto choked and spluttered soup all over the stand.

_"What do you mean!" _Naruto was convinced - Orochimaru had removed Sasuke's brain, jumped on it a bit then put it back into his head.

_"Well, Sakura said that you two had been getting closer ..."_

Naruto suddenly had his suspicions raised. _"Since when do you listen to what Sakura-chan says? You always used to ignore her"_

_"I used to ignore you too, dobe. I don't see Sakura much these days, what does she spend her time doing?" _ Sasuke held his breath, the dobe had got better at seeing what was underneath the underneath as Kakashi was always whingeing about.

Naruto's eyes filled with pride as he talked about his closest friend. _"She's been training under Tsunade-baachan you know! They say in regards to healing and stuff she's almost at the same level as her. Plus she's got these huge punches that can go through walls! And also when I was ..."_

Sasuke recognised this feeling as pride in his team-mate and satisfaction that she had got this far. Mixed in was a degree of pride that she was going to be his eventually. This thought was disrupted slightly as he dipped back into Naruto's rant to find him talking about Sakura and that tentacle-monster she was 'seeing'.

_"...course everyone was shocked when she sort've let it slip when we out one night. They'd only been together a couple of weeks then but everyone was really happy for them 'cos we'd just been hearing Anko talking about how Genma had been feeling lonely and of course, everyone knows how Sakura had been pretty much by herself so we all thought it was great! Hey Sasuke-teme, you okay?"_

Sasuke was just fine. Well as fine as you can be wen the object of your affections is seeing an older man. However he was quite pleased to hear to that she hadn't found another man straight away. Perhaps there was hope for his quest!

_"Yes I'm fine. Does Sakura ever ... talk about me?" _He crossed his fingers.

Naruto looked at him oddly for a moment. _"She didn't really, come to think of it teme. She was really depressed after you left but not long after she started her training with Tsunade-baachan and she started perking up. She did tell me once or twice that she missed you and wondered if you were okay but she really seems to have gotten herself over that crush on you"_

_"Ah" _Sasuke wondered what that crushing pain in his chest was all about. But he shook his head determinedly. He would win Sakura back from the octopoidion jounin!

Next stop - Yamanaka Ino, Sakura's best friend come rival.

_**NEXT TIME**_

Sasuke talks to Ino and has to talk to Genma.


End file.
